Iran Plots to Assassinate U.S. Saudi Ambassador

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright October 12, 2011
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          Uncovering an Iranian plot to kill the U.S. Saudi ambassador reminds the White House that Iran an the U.S. remain at war.  While no shots have been fired directly by Iran or the U.S., Iran continues to wage a proxy war against the U.S. and its allies in the Middle East and now on the U.S. homeland.  Terrorist plots, whether disrupted or not, are acts of war, prompting decisive action.  Iran has had its finger prints on numerous terrorist attacks on the U.S. military in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well has its support of Hezbollah against Israel in Lebanon.  Since evicting the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in 1979 and seizing the U.S. embassy, the U.S. has been on a war footing with Tehran.  When the CIA uncovered the plot to kill the Saudi ambassador with a U.S. government informant in the violent Zetas Mexican drug cartel, Iran’s twilight war against the U.S. goes on.s

            U.S. Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. promised to hold Tehran accountable in the U.N. Security Council.  Iran’s blustery 54-year-old President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad denied any state involvement.  While officially denied, the Iran’s elite military unit known as Al Quds paid the U.S.-planted stooge $100,000 in the Mexican Zetas drug gang   to blow up the Saudi ambassador.  “At a minimum, this is something that will be used in diplomatic channels to further U.S. efforts to isolate Iran,” said Matthew Levitt, director of intelligence and counterintelligence program at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.  “I don’t know if the administration will want to do much more than that while this remains at the level of allegations,” said Levitt, urging the White House to take more decisive action to combat terrorism.  Finding ways to retaliate against the renegade Iranian regime won’t be easy.

             Iran literally has its fingerprints on the Improvised Explosive Devices that have been used by the Taliban to kill and maim U.S. forces in Afghanistan.  Tehran always denies any involvement even when ballistic experts tie the bombs to Iran.  Ahmadinejad denies any connection to the Al Quds Force, despite using the military wing to torment and intercept peaceful U.S. vessels in the Persian Gulf.  When Ahmadinejad rigged his reelection and declared victory June 14, 2009, he used Al Quds to crackdown on rioters that rapidly spread around the country.  Considered the militant wing of the Iranian military, Al Quds successfully restored order around the country.  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton questioned “how we can sent a very strong message that this kind of action violates international norms,” realizing the government’s hands are tied with respect to reprisals.

            During President George W. Bush’s eight years in office, the White House did very little to restrain a growing Iranian nuclear threat.  Most nuclear experts expect Iran to have enough fissile material for a nuclear device in the next few years.  If and when Iran gets the bomb, it’s going to be virtually impossible to restrain Iran’s terrorist activities.  Obama must act decisively now with Iran’s latest act of war.  Attempted murder of the U.S. Saudi ambassador crosses the line beyond U.N. intervention.  Every sovereign nation must defend itself against unprovoked attacks whether they materialize or not.  “Factions of the Iranian government” were responsible for the foiled terror attack and must be held “responsible” said Atty. Gen. Holder.  Calling the foiled plot a “despicable violation of international law,” the Saudi government thanked the U.S. for “preventing a criminal act.”

            Washington’s Heritage Foundation Director of Foreign Policy Studies James Carafano said Tehran must come to grips with the government’s close relationship with Al Quds.  “We hear about factions in the Iranian government, but Iran is responsible for them and their actions, and that’s the end of it,” said Carafano, calling on the administration to take decisive action.  Calling the plot “a belligerent act against the U.S.,” Carafano insisted the White House must change its engagement mode with the Iranian regime.  Waiting for the next terrorist act could be too late.  Administration officials must craft a measured response or risk another terrorist incident in the near future.  Iran’s sponsor of global terrorist prompted Bush to call Iran Jan. 29, 2002 in his State of the Union speech part of the Axis of Evil.  A little over a year later, the U.S. went to war against Iraq.

       Iran’s hand in state-sponsored terrorism has been well documented around the globe.  Their involvement with Pakistan and North Korea’s illicit nuclear activity as well as proxy wars in Lebanon, Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere live up to Bush’s calling Iran  part of the “Axis of Evil.  Accepting Ahmadinejad’s denials about the recently foiled Al Quds’ assassination plot against the Saudi ambassador perpetrates the myth that Tehran isn’t responsible for terrorist acts.  Obama must take seriously the Iranian threat to U.S. national security, especially Israel, should the current Persian regime get the bomb.  Calling Iran’s acts “traditional modus operandi” for sponsoring terrorism around the globe, Washington Institute’s Levitt takes very seriously the odds of Iran attacking the U.S. or its allies.  No one took Bin Laden seriously before Sept. 11.  Obama should not make the same mistake with Iran.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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